Carousel
by ReveredRiren
Summary: Family hit hard by The Great Depression, Eren Jaeger is willing to take almost source of income. When an opportunity hits him, quite literally, he ends up eager to get the the job. But is a paying job really worth the death and secrets surrounding it? (1930s Circus AU. Riren with other side pairings.)


_**Disclaimer : I do not own any of the characters featured in this story. Rights to the anime series Attack on Titan. **_

_**Writer: KingRiren. I have another FF account that I've had for way longer, but I didn't wish to post this fic on there...**_

_**Summary: Circus-centered AU, taking place in 1935. **_**_Family hit hard by The Great Depression, Eren Jaeger is desperate for some source of income. When an opportunity hits him, quite literally, he is eager to get the the job. But is a paying job really worth the death and secrets surrounding it? _**

_**Warnings: Just some general things, as chapter specific warnings will be given out at times. The overall nature of this fic is going to be rather dark at times. Violence, adult language (Levi, guys, it's Levi...), homosexual couplings, and other mature situations will be recurring themes. If you're a serious hardcore prude, this probably isn't for you. Furthermore, if you don't like the ship being written about, or the characters, this definitely is not for you and I suggest you find something that you do like. :)**_

_**Main Recurring Pairings: Eren x Levi. **_

_**Extra: Had the idea for this for a while. Listening to some Lana Del Rey made me make something of it. Also, as a sidenote, Mikasa's last name in this will just be Jaeger. She is adopted, but I don't want to dwell on the whole Levi/Mikasa last name subject for this fic. :p**_

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Jaeger family luck.

It was an accepted proverb that when it came to good variety and any other slightly lesser shade of it, the Jaeger's would have no taste of it. So when their patriarch walked out on the lot of them at the worst of times, taking their main form of income along with him, neither the children or the mother had any words of shock or any variation of "why is this happening?". They were far past such petty words. They each handled their issues in ways beyond seeking pity for things that could not be changed.

Carla Jaeger dealt by taking on more work, day to night. Despite slaving away, the pay of those never ending hours did little to put food on the table, let alone pay bills. And beyond issues of mere money, she had little to no time to spend with her children. That was the worst part for her. Knowing that they were going through as much, if not more, suffering as she was. At the beginning of her new jobs, they had attempted to wake up early enough to catch her, but she had eventually come to scold them for that, noticing how tired they still were. Spending time with them at night wasn't much of an option either, as by the time she returned home, they were soundly asleep.

Mikasa Jaeger was similar to her mother when it came to laboring over something. She herself had one job in packaging, and spent most of her time focusing on her studies. Or attempting to keep her brother out of trouble.

When it came to Eren Jaeger, he didn't on anything productive or beneficial, much to the dismay of the two females. Eren was more prone to getting into fights with other boys that hung around on the streets, or insulting some of the older folk who ticked him off for many possible reasons. His anger was his Achilles heel and he spent no time trying to reign it in once it was unleashed. He was far too emotional, his father had said; simply passionate, Eren would refute. Carla herself was worried that Eren would one day get into serious trouble with the law (he'd had minor instances of said trouble, but nothing severe), and Carla would not be able to lend any money towards helping him.

Eren had no desire to worry his mother, but he was unable to control himself. He knew that more often than not, he disappointed her, and he tried to keep himself in check when being taunted, but he really _couldn't_. His blood was hot and his mind ardent. Notions such as tranquility did not naturally exist in him.

That was why one day, when Eren finished his breakfast and moved to head out, Mikasa spoke up. "I don't think it's a good idea that you go out today." Her tone was neutral, but Eren knew her well enough to be able to tell that this was no mere suggestion. His eyes narrowed and he turned to look at her.

"And why is that? I doubt you want any company. I'm sure you'll be _studying_," he couldn't help sneering. And even if she did desire the company, he was not inclined to give it to her. He wasn't interested in watching her do pointless things involving arithmetic all day. In fact, even being dirt poor, he could easily list more than a thousand things that he'd rather do.

Mikasa didn't seem affected by his words, which only seemed to further annoy him. She was always so calm, so unperturbed. It was frustrating. Why wouldn't she react to anything?

"You know why, Eren," she told him simply, to which he scoffed.

They had some variation of this conversation once a week, he had just hoped it wouldn't be today. A Monday, of all days. He'd hoped she would lay off of him a bit, seeing as it was the start of the week and all. Apparently, however, he had no such luck... No surprise there. "Right, right. I'll get in a fight." He turned his back to her, so she wouldn't see him roll his eyes. As much as he might not mind talking back to her, she still scared him at times. "Here's a thought. Why don't you tell the guys who keep giving me black eyes to 'not go out'?" When he only received a soft sigh in reply, he quickly stormed out, closing the door roughly behind him.

He never liked what came after _those_ sighs. It was typically a guilt trip of some sort, something like, 'you know Mom has a hard enough time as is without...'. He didn't want to add "worry why son has new bruise" to his mother's plate of steadily increasing tasks, but he also didn't want to stay cooped up inside. That would be worse than any insults he got from other boys outside. Being inside all day would only serve as a constant reminder of their situation, of their fucked up lives. He didn't need more reminders of those sorts. The clothes he wore, his hygiene, the constant rumbling of his stomach, all of it was reminder enough. There was no way he could forget.

He _needed_ the not-so-fresh air to keep from being driven mad. He didn't know how Mikasa could stand it. Sitting in there, when she didn't have a packaging shift. Flipping through the pages of the same books they'd had for 17 years.

So he would leave. Most days, he would head towards the General Store in town, where his one friend, Armin's, grandfather worked. If Armin didn't have to help there, they'd hang out together. Otherwise, Eren would just wander around outside, by which time a group of boys usually stood on a corner, as if expecting him. Today, however, before he got to the General Store, a piece of paper that he figured was strewn carelessly to the ground by some prissy woman who thought herself better than everyone.

He tore the offending article from his face, glancing at it in disdain. When he saw the title, which read _Eoten's Circus_, he was prepared to throw the flyer back to the ground. He had always hated this form of advertising. People had to know by now that the flyers ended up littering the ground more than they actually got read? However, his curiosity got the better of him when he caught a glimpse of the bottom of the handout.

_"Positions open. Nothing specific being sought out: Show us what you can do," _Erenread to himself, raising an eyebrow as he did so. Nothing specific? He'd never went to a circus himself, but he'd heard about them. He knew a variety of things were accepted in them, and if the particular group was popular enough, they didn't pay bad. At that latter thought, he read through the whole advertisement, learning where and when they "auditions" would be taking place...sounded worth checking out to him.


End file.
